Despite computerisation, registration woes continue

“Star 2.0 is the first step of the Registration Department towards transparency and to weed out corruption. We are in the development stage and there is always a scope for improvement,” said Nallasivan, Additional Inspector General of Registration Department.

STAR 2.0 is the second edition of STAR that was launched on February 12 this year, and since then registration is done only through online. With various services offered online, STAR 2.0 was accorded the best scheme award at the Independence Day function by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Despite the complete computerisation and the promises made by the Registration Department, people still face several problems and transparency is lacking. One of the major problems faced by the public is the software itself.

After computerisation, the purchaser has to enter the details of the property and other details on their own.

This, according to members of the public, is the most difficult part as they do not want to make mistakes and so seek the help of document writers, who do it for payment.

Mangaiyarkkarasi, a retired government employee, who recently registered a piece of land had to spend Rs 500 to fill the page as she did not have all the details sought by the software. “The page is complex and the common man cannot do it on his/her own”, said Mangaiyarkkarasi.

However, Nallasivan said that the page is user-friendly, and people can fill the details on their own.

“The registration department is looking for complete digitalisation of documents to prevent forging of documents in the future and for this people should extend their support,” said Nallasivan.

Another problem faced by the public is the software issue. On most occasions, the software crashes and people cannot fill their details. The problem is also faced by the sub-registrars.

A sub-registrar, on condition of anonymity, said whenever software issues crop up it takes 15 days to resolve it.

Nallasivan acknowledged that there are issues in the software, but the delay is due to software modification.

“Any modification in the software has to be done by the software company and after modification it will be certified by IIT (Madras). Because of the processes, there is delay but once all the modifications are done there will no delay due to software issues,” said Nallasivan.

Yet another problem faced by sub-registrars is the network connection. The speed of the network delays the registration process to a great extent and the sub-registrars had to face the ire of the public who come for registration.

“Recently one of the sub-registrars had commented in our WhatsApp group that Inspector General of Registration is fast (in implementing schemes) but not the network,” said the sub-registrar.

Sub-registrars are also entrusted with another new work which promotes corruption. They have to visit the site to inspect the property, lesser than Rs 50 lakh in value, but many of the sub-registrars do not visit the site and collect bribe from the buyers for approval. However, Nallasivan said the visit of sub-registrars is not required if plan approval was already obtained from the local body. “People have now slowly acquired the awareness to obtain plan approval for the properties and in the near future they will not be in a position to bribe the officials,” said Nallasivan.